


The Puzzling Mystery of Hatchetfield, Michigan

by Newt_salamander



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Hatchetfield but make it a Buzzfeed Unsolved episode, Inspired by Buzzfeed Unsolved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:48:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26621656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Newt_salamander/pseuds/Newt_salamander
Summary: “This week on Buzzfeed Unsolved we cover the seemingly open and shut case of what happened to a small island town, and everyone inside of it.”Ryan and Shane discuss the Hatchetfield apotheosis and visit the city of Clivesdale to talk to some people that might shed light on the situation.
Relationships: Alice & Paul Matthews, Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins, Ryan Bergara & Shane Madej
Comments: 8
Kudos: 96





	The Puzzling Mystery of Hatchetfield, Michigan

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted the official ending of TGWDLM to be as ambiguous here as it was in the show. Basically, Emma got assimilated but the world didn't end and the Hive was contained.

**Buzzfeed Unsolved ∙ Supernatural**

**Season 6, Episode 10 ∙ The Puzzling Mystery of Hatchetfield, Michigan**

_ The episode opens on Shane and Ryan, walking towards a bridge that is seemingly leading to nowhere, the other side just a barren wasteland. The bridge is blocked off, and very ominous in the dead of night.  _

“God, what a depressing sight.” Shane comments, frowning at the ruins.

__ Ryan sighs, running a hand through his hair. “Here it is. The Nantucket Bridge. The remains of Hatchetfield.” 

_ The title card plays, a sound of thunder accompanying it. _

“This week on Buzzfeed Unsolved we cover the seemingly open and shut case of what happened to a small island town.” 

“An island town? Gosh, that sounds like the dream.”

Ryan smiles and shuffles through his notes, “Not if you know what the price the residents had to pay.”

Both men chuckle uncomfortably until Ryan interrupts. “Let’s get into it, huh?”

“ _ On the night of October 11th, 2018 the Michigan town of Hatchetfield was struck by a meteor that had not been noticed by astronomers until the evening it hit. Wh _ -”

Shane frowns, immediately interrupting. “How do people not notice a meteor? Isn’t that their job? To spot meteors and stuff like this? I’ve suddenly lost a lot of trust in astronomers.”

“Yeah. You’d think something as big as a  _ rock  _ hurtling through  _ space  _ would be at least commented on.”

The shorter looks back down. “ _ What conspired over the next 24 hours was and still is a mystery to everyone but the inhabitants _ .” 

“Spooky. Are we going to uh, go to this place? Do some ghost  _ -uh- _ do some EMP stuff?”   
“Unfortunately, no. As we will explore later, Hatchetfield literally  _ blew up _ , therefore we will be visiting their sister city of Clivesdale to try and gain more information. Let’s hope we can get as close as possible to stepping on Hatchet-land, though.”

“Hatchet-land, huh? You just make that up? We gonna get a Boogara Dictionary later this year?”

Ryan gave the tight-lipped smile specially reserved for Shane. “Yeah, I sure as hell am. Guess who’s name isn’t gonna be in it?”

“ _ The meteor fell down onto the Starlight Theatre, presumably killing the residents seeing the touring production of  _ Mama Mia!  _ that night. This is where our story starts to get tricky. One of the theatregoers, police officer Sam Johansen was seen later in the day, going to work, humming along to the show he planned on seeing last night. Bystander records claim he hadn’t a care in the world, and was acting happier than he should have, considering the near death experience.” _

Shane starts laughing, trying to get his comment out before Ryan moves on. “So this guy almost  _ died  _ and he’s singing along to ABBA? He’s fucking nuts!”

“Why not? I’d like to go out singing Super Trooper. Wouldn’t you?”

“Well, yeah. But I don’t know if Super Trooper would be my- my-”

“  _ (wheeze)  _ Your choice in ABBA song?”

“Yeah! I’d do something like Waterloo, really get people pumped.”

“Pumped for your  _ death _ ?”

“....yeah, I think so.”

“ _ As the day progressed news reports claimed that residents were singing songs, and the singers wouldn’t recognize their loved ones. Later articles on the Hatchetfield tragedy write it off as mass hysteria, but we’re not so sure.” _

“Why, Ryan. Why aren’t we sure?”

“Because that’s a weird thing to imagine! If  _ I _ was losing it, I don’t think people singing is what I’d hallucinate first.”

“That is such a bullshit argument!”

_ “Clivesdale residents were getting frantic calls of help from their children and friends, but in the town’s panic, they raised the one bridge out of the town- the Nantucket bridge, making it impossible to get in and out of the town. Voicemails that have been shared on the internet have citizens claiming this was the apocalypse.  _

The camera cuts back to Shane throwing his hands in the air. “It’s just people singing! Jesus Christ, this seems like an overreaction!”

“Well, it might be pretty scary if you’re trapped in a place with an unknown thing you have no explanation for.”

Shane pauses his admonishing glare and blinks at Ryan. “Well, when you put it like that, it sounds a  _ little  _ scary.”

_ “The rest of the day follows the hysterical mood that the morning started with, but outsiders were realizing the calls got fewer as the day went on, and at around 9:00pm the United States Military was reported to have interfered, although they seemed to have gotten trapped on the island as well. The last army helicopter had crashed at around 11:00. The next day, the worried families of Hatchetfield inhabitants were somberly told by the military that the meteor had caused a gas leak and the entire island was compromised, presumably taking their loved ones lives down with it.” _

“Fuck, that got sad. Ryan, why the hell would you decide to read this story, it’s not _fun_! I don’t feel comfortable making jokes anymore, Ryan!”

“Yeah, a somber ending to what happened that day.” Ryan looked down for a minute before clapping his hands. “So, how about we cut to future us, interviewing some people in Clivesdale and hopefully eating some good food!”

“Hell yeah, baby!”

_ The establishing shots of Clivesdale make it out to be a relatively small city, more like a very large town. It’s highly wooded, but still has its share of tall buildings. Shane and Ryan stand at the airport entrance, climbing into a van presumably for them.  _

“So, this place is pretty nice. But today isn’t just sightseeing. We’re planning on interviewing three people, including a colonel, so that’s pretty cool!”

Shane nods sagely. “This will probably be the most productive day while actually at a supernatural-related location we’ve ever had.”

Ryan pauses, looking like he realized something. “Hey, do you think it’s legal to interview a colonel? Like, she’s not telling us anything top secret… did our legal team agree to this?”

_ The next shot we see is the pair knocking on an upper class apartment building door. A redhead woman in a pantsuit and a phone in her hand opened it. She smiled demurely, holding her hand out for them to shake. _

“Hi! Uh, we’re Ryan and Shane, are you Madeline Reeves?”

The woman held the door open for them, ushering them inside. “Yes, that’s me. We talked on the phone earlier this week,” she points to Ryan, “but I haven’t formally met you guys.” 

_ Ryan’s voicover suddenly replaces the other audio. _

“ _ Ms. Reeves is a lawyer in Clivesdale, who tragically lost both her daughter and the girl’s father due to the supposed gas leak. We contacted her when a source cited Madeline as one of the main skeptics to the “Gas Leak” theory.” _

The two are now sitting on a couch, Madeline sitting across. Ryan decides to start the conversation, asking for a little backstory. 

“Madeline, we would like to say first that we are terribly sorry for your loss, and hope that they have found peace in the afterlife. If you don’t mind, would you tell us about them and how you experienced October 12th?” Madeline nodded and shifted in her seat.

“Well, first off, I am-  _ was  _ divorced. My ex husband, Bill, only got custody of his daughter, Alice, for one week a month. The 12th was the final day of that week. She was supposed to ride home on the bus that morning, but she never showed. I was at work, and wasn’t aware of it until her school called saying that she hadn’t showed up. I frantically decided to call Bill when I got out of a meeting I was in, but Alice called me before it happened. Luckily, as a busy woman who gets a lot of information by telephone, all my work calls are recorded. A few days after the incident, judgement and actions still clouded by grief, I decided to find a way to download the call from Alice and upload it to the net. I could play it for you, if you’d like.”

Both men nodded synchronously. Madeline pulled her cell up and tapped a few things before pressing play. A harried teen’s voice was on the other line.

“ _ Mom! Oh my god, Mom. Mom, I’m scared. I just called dad, he says he’s coming for me, but I’m not dumb. I just,,”  _ Madeline’s voice interrupts the girl.

“Alice! Where in the world are you, and why are you talking nonsense. You and I are going to have a talk when we get home about lyi-” Alice’s sobbing cuts Madeline off so quickly you’d almost forget she’d been talking in the first place.

“ _ I’m sorry! I’m so, so, so, sorry. There’s something weird happening all around town a-and Deb’s singing, and she’s not listening to me. Dad sounded like he knew what was happening, and he says, he says stay in here. I think he’s with Paul. Mamma, I miss Paul. I haven’t seen him in a while. Can you tell him I miss him. I love you, Mamma. I lo-”  _ Alice’s ranting is cut off by an ear-piercing scream, mixed with hysterical sobbing. In the back, musical chanting can be heard. “ _ ALICE?”  _ phone Madeline yells, before the recording cuts out. 

Present-day Madeline is no longer smiling, instead silently crying. Shane looks genuinely sympathetic, and asks if he can pat her shoulder. She nods. Ryan goes to pat her as well, and there is a brief moment of silence in the video before it cuts to the van again. 

“So… that was a little more heavy than I was expecting.”

“Absolutely fucking devastating, man. Supernatural or not, the emotional burden a massacre like that must bring. I would like to bring up the obvious musical occurrences in the recording, though. Alice says repeatedly that people are singing, and there is faint music at the end. What do you make of that?”

“Well, I don’t have heart to call bullshit. That is pretty damning evidence. Of what, I’m not sure. But even I know that there’s no way a gas leak was all that was to it. Shit, Ryan. I have no  _ clue  _ what the meaning of this one is.”

Ryan tsks, “This one was so puzzling and just downright confusing that I couldn’t even come up with good theories. All the ones online were so convoluted, and me, ever the purist, didn’t even want to use them.”

_ “Our next guest-slash-interviewee is a young man who decided not to release his name. We did it all over phone, so this interview is all pre-recorded.”  _

Both hosts hover over a phone on speaker, connecting. A warbled voice answers, “Hey! Are you guys the ghost hunters?” Shane nodded, then realized that doesn't translate, so gave a belated, “Sure are!”

“So, uh. You were a friend of one of the other victims?”

The man hummed, signifying  _ yes.  _

“Yeah, my buddy Lex was supposed to visit me that weeked, but never showed. I got a text early Friday morning from her, just a quick  _ ‘Might not make it, they closed off the bridges.’  _ I didn’t really think anything of it, she cancels all the time. I actually thought it was another one of her excuses until I turned the TV on. They were talking about the meteor, and how Hatchetfield was ‘actin kinda wacky, but I kinda, like, brushed it off. My boyfriend said we should check up on Lex again ‘cause  _ her  _ boyfriend, Ethan, wasn’t answering his texts. I texted her more than ten times before I decided, ‘ _ hey, I could maybe, like, call her?’  _ and so I did. I called her  _ seven fucking times  _ before she finally answered. She answered, but when I asked if she was good, she just said ‘No, Hannah says Webby said this is the end. She told me yesterday that I wouldn’t be able to see anyone ever again. I think she’s right.’ And to be honest, I was  _ not. Here. _ for that cryptic shit, but I got one more text about, about, an ‘apotheosis’ or ‘summin. I thought she’d lost it-- like her sister. Next thing I know, Hatchetfield’s gone, and so is Lex. Other than that, that’s all I got for you. Hope you can do something with that.” 

The line goes dead.

Shane shakes his head. “Why did we interview a teenager, again?”

“Because he was one of few who wanted to help us and also kept his story straight.”

“Wonderful for your case, I’ll have you know.” 

All Ryan does is flip him off.

“ _ The Lex our interviewee was talking about, refers to an Alexandria Foster, a dropout high school student working at the local Toy Zone. Her younger sister Hannah had a reputation around town of a crackpot of sorts, always spouting crazy things, or prophetic messages, depending on who you ask.” _

“Oh!  _ Even better _ ! The people whose statements we were taking as fact, are apparently crazy!”

Shane gets hit in the shoulder this time, Ryan’s brow knit. “Don’t speak ill of the dead.” 

“Yeah, sorry.”

_ “The last person we will speak to today is Colonel Schaeffer of the U.S. Military. She was reportedly in Clivesdale after the attack, and may know something. She has agreed to speak to us, and let’s hope we make her time worthwhile.” _

The camera cuts to a middle-aged woman with impeccable posture, greeting the boys.

“So glad we could speak to you, Colonel. Thank you for your service.”

She nods a thank you, and sits down.   
“I don’t have clearance to give you all the information I am privy to, but I hope to help you to the best of my abilities. See, after most of the chaos had cleared over I had been given instructions from my superior, post-mortem. He had told me there was one sole survivor of the incident, a woman by the name of Emma Perkins.”

“Did you know Ms. Perkins before then?”

“Lord, no. But I did, in fact, meet Emma Perkins that evening. She was severely injured, thigh speared by helicopter debris. We nursed her back to health, and had given her a Witness Protection Plan. I am allowed to tell you this only because Emma Perkins never got to use that mantle. A week after the 12th, Emma was ready enough to be sent off, and we had a surprise for her. You see, we had found another survivor.”

Ryan interrupted by gasping, to which Shane promptly chuckled at him for.

“It was a man named Paul Matthews. I was told he was blown up by an explosion that he caused. Somehow, he returned to us unscathed. It was not my job to question this at the time, but I did decide to let Paul and Emma go into witpro together. They knew each other, so I thought it would be a kind gesture. I, and most of my colleagues were informed that everything had gone swimmingly and that the duo was off to Colorado. They never arrived in Colorado, and seemingly never left the hospital I left them at. I haven’t heard from them since.”

Shane stood up, reaching out to help Ryan, who was suck in the plush couch. 

“Thank you, Colonel, and we appreciate the information, you have certainly given us some baffling information.” 

_ A final shot of Clivesdale shows on the screen, Ryan and Shane’s voice accompanying it.  _

“Well, that sure was a ride.”

“What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. I have more questions than answers. How are you so calm?”

Shane shrugs. “Sometimes when these episodes freak me out too much, I just… internalize it.”

“I think I might follow your advice. I would prefer to not remember this episode.”

  
“ _ The towns of Hatchetfield and Clivesdale are shrouded in mystery, intrigue, and tragedy. We still want to know: Who are Emma Perkins and Paul Matthews, was Hannah Foster a prophet or a raving child, and why was everyone singing? Alas, the absolutely mind-boggling story of Hatchetfield remains… unsolved.” _

**Author's Note:**

> Th ending was shoddy, but I enjoyed making this. Please leave comments! I thrive on them.


End file.
